Rail-joint.



H. F. ROAGH.

RAIL JOINT. .APPLIOAiION FILED SEPT. 2, 1911.

Patented Jail. 2, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Original application filed May 5, 1911, Serial No;

skilled in the art towhich it appertains to an insulated rail-joint the joint.

life of the insulating niaterial, and also rematerial is so formed that rust and findings, namely, small metal I collect at such the preferred form of my invention, A t les structedin accordance with my invention,

- members which are interposed between the rinrr n snares Parana oracle.

. I HARRY F. ROACH', OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI RAIL-JOINT.

PatentedJan. 2 1am.

1,@i3,852i I Specification of Letters Patent.

To all whom it may. concern: 7

Be-it-knownthat'I, HARRY F. ROAOH, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement ,in Rail-Joints, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as willenable others tion 1 that forms the tension member 'of the girder, said rail-supporting portion 1 being formed integralwith a portion 2 that laps ov ir the top faces of the base flanges of the ran the edges of the base flanges of as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The compresthe rails,

make and use the same.

This invention ,relates to raiLjoints, and a division of my allowed application Serial No. 625,175, filed May 5, 1911. One object of the invention is to provide v which is so designed that the insulation is not subjected to a hammering action when wheels pass over member 3 that extends longitudinally of the web of thegirder underneath the heads ofa member 4 that extends alongside of the heads of the rails, the .top face of said member at being lower than the tread surfaces of the rails. 5

The horizontally disposed rail-supporting portion 1 of the joint is provided at ap- Another object is to provide an insulated rail-joint which is so designed that ample provision is made for draining and ventilating the j oint, thereby increasing the area of the flat surface ducing the cost of maintenance of the joint.

the load which the rail is intended to carry.

And still another object is to provide aninsulated rail-joint in which the insulating portioned that it does not extend any-fargrindings from ther in either direction from the center of the brake-shoes, wheels, and rails, cannot a point that a short circuit will be produced.

Other objects and desirable features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out. L

Figure l of the tional view of an by making it possible to design the joint in such a manner that only the required supporting surface is provided for the base flanges of the rails;

5 drawings is a side elevainsulated rail-joint conparts and through The member 3 which lies under theheads of the rails is preferably so designed that it is spaced far enough below the heads of the rails at the ends of the joint to permit the rails to deflect'downwardly when a load is imposed upon the same and thus bring the base flanges of the rails gradually into engagement with the portions of the sole plates that cover the inclined surfaces on the top face of the rail-supporting member 1 of the joint. v

Suitable insulating members are arranged between the rails and the various elements which ferred of my invention as herein shown, the insulating material which is interposed' between the ends of the rails is the girder being broken away so as to more clearly illustrate the base portion -of the joint on which the sole plates rest; Fig. 2 is a top plan view partly in horizontal section; Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of thejoint showing one of the rails in cross section; Fig. 3? is a perspective view of one form of sole plate that can be used with the joint; Fig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view; and Fig. 5 to 9, inclusive, are perspective =views of the various insulating rails and the metallic parts of the joint.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate ignates a girder. arranged at one side of the rails and provided with an lntegral s and projects downwardly alongside of proximately its center with a flat surface 6' Consequently, said surface 6 can be so prohorizontally disposed rail-supporting porsion element of the girderconsists .of a

6 is determined by .80 the joint than is absolutely necessary, thereintegrally connected to the insulating ma-;

v\ erial that is interposed between the base flanges-of therail's and the railsupporting -member'lc'ofthe joint I prefer to use, a pair of 'solo plates 9 formed of insulating 'material'and each provided at its inner end wi'th an integral n -pfl 1 both of which lie between the ends of the abutting rails,

- ..but, if desired, sole plates, only one 9* of which is provided"=wit h. an integral end-' post 10,

may be' used for this. purpose, as shown in Fig. 3; the'sole plate 95 extending under one rail with 1the :integral end-post 10 lying between the abuttingends of. the

rails and the sole plate 9 extending under the other rail. The. soleplates 9 are pro-' v-ided at one edge with upwardly projecting flanges 11 which extend alongside of the edges of the base flanges of the rails, and the insulating member 0, which is interposedbetween the rails and the girder A, conforms to the shape of one side of the rails and is provided with a depending flange 13 that lies between the upturned flanges 11 on the sole plates, and the part 2 of the girder that lies adjacent the edge portions of the .base flanges of the rails. Preferably, the insulatingmember G is pro- .vided at its upper edgewith a flange 12 8 and the nuts thereon from the metallic arts-of thejoint. I also refer to arrange ushings 16 of insulating aterial in openings in the rail-supporting member 1 of the joint for receiving the spikes or fasten: ing devices that secure the joint to the ties, said bushings 16 also operating to prevent the sole plates from moving laterally relatively to the joint. By forming the joint in this manner, namely, providing the railsupporting member 1 with a flat surface of relatively great area, and having the re maining portions of the top face of said rail-joint incline downwardly from said central flat face so that the base flanges of the rails will not normally rest upon the downwardly inclined portions of the .railsupporting member, I practically eliminate reverse strains and distribute the load to the ties on which the. joint rests without making a fulcrunamf the ties and without causing a pumping'up and down of the ties due to fulcruming The flange 2, or portion of the girder which laps .over the base flan es of the rails, holds the end portions of t e rails firmly down upon the portions of the sole plates that cover the flat supporting surface 6 of the member 1 and thus securely clamps the end portions of the rails in position and prevents them from rising upwardly off. the sole plates at the center of'the joint.

' An insulated rail -joint of the construction above described has a relatively large area of insulation, and as the joint is designed in such a manner that the pressure of the load is applied gradually to the railsupporting member 1, the sole plateslwill not receive sudden shocks or be hammered when wheels pass over the joint. Another desirable featureof such and findings, namely, small'metal grindings from thebrake-shoes, wheels, and rails, cannot collect and form a bridge .across the.

ends of the rails and thus produce as ort circuit owing to the fact that the end-postsare formed integral with the insulating sole plates. There is sufficient space between the a joint is that rust girder A and the insulating member C to insure proper ventilation and drainage, and as said member C laps over the sole plates and terminates at the rail-supporting mem her 1 whose top face inclines downwardly from the central portion thereof, ample provision is madefor drainage. Consequentl v, the cost of maintaming-an insulated railjoint of the character above-described will be very low because the joint is so designed that there is comparatively little wear .on the insulating material and water cannot collect and stand on said insulating material.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to-secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An insulated rail-joint comprising a rail-supporting member provided with a portion that extends alongside of the rails, an insulating member arranged upon said rail-supporting member under the ,base flanges of the rails and provided with an integral portion that lies between the-terminals of the rails, and a separate and distinct insulating member arranged between the rails and the portion 'of said rail-supporting member that extends alongside of the rails.

2.' 'In an insulated rail-joint, a metallic rail-supporting member, and a pair of sole plates of insulating material arranged between the base flanges of the rails and said rail-supporting member and provided with integral end-posts that lie between the terminals of the rails.

3. An insulated rail-joint consisting-of a horizontally disposed rail-supporting memits lower edge with a depending flange, sole plates arranged under the base flanges of the rails, and upwardly projecting flanges on said sole plates which lie adjacent the dependent flange on said insulating member.-

4. An insulated rail-joint consisting of a member having a horizontally disposed rail: supporting portion and a portion-which extends alongside of the rails, the top face or said rail-supporting portion being flat atapproximately ,the center, and inclined downward toward its ends, and insulating disposed portion and the base flanges of the rails and provided with integral end-posts which'lie between the terminals of the rails, upturned flanges on one edge of said sole plates, an insulating member arranged between the rails and the portion of said memmember which laps over the upturned flanges on the'sole plates.

6. An insulated rail-joint having a horizontally ,disposed rail-supporting member provided with a portion which laps over part of the base flanges of the rails, a sole plate for insulating said member from the base flanges of the rails, and an insulating bushing arranged in said member for receiving a fastening device and operating to retain said sole plate imposition.

7. An insulated rail-joint'consisting of a girder having a horizontally disposed railsupporting portion and a member which extends alongside of the heads of the rails,

the top face of said member being lower than the treads of the rails, and insulating material interposed between the rails and' said girder and projecting slightly above the top face of the member on the girder which extends alongside of the headset the ra1 s.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this twenty ninth day of August 1911.

HARRY F. ROAGH.

Witnesses:

WELLS L. OHuRoH, GEORGE BAKEWELL.

Copies of this ,patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents. Washington, D. G. 

